Sunday, January 07, 2007

ROCKIN' a hit at the Contra Costa Times

Tony Hicks, well-regarded rock critic for the Contra Costa Times, dug deep on this marvelous front-page-feature piece which ran today in the paper's A&E section. Circulation is very impressive--113,000 on Sunday--reaching the well-populated East Bay (across from San Francisco, from the Bay itself--Oakland and Berkeley--then inland to the valleys which host Concord, Walnut Creek, San Jose, and halfway to Sacramento).

Besides interviewing me, he spoke with Mike LaVella (Gearhead Magazine, and author of the new HOT ROD WORLD OF ROB'T WILLIAMS), John McCord (co-owner of the "rock museum-ish" Down Home Music store in El Cerrito), and Dan Dunn (director of the esteemed Blackhawk Museum in Danville, CA, which displays 90-100 classic cars at any given time).

Then in the sidebar below, he really outdid himself, recalling Meat Loaf's "Paradise by the Dashboard Light," Bruce Springsteen's "Fire," Snoop's "Still a G Thang," and Sammy Hagar's "Cruisin' and Boozin", all in a valiant attempt to top my 20 best car songs.

He also ran photos of Charlie Ryan and his we--remembered coupe; Xzibit and a custom Cadillac from the original "Pimp My Ride" days; and Snoop with Lee Iacocca, just having filmed one of their highly amusing, set-on-a-golf course commercials. Oh, and there's me with Billy F Gibbons at the Petersen Automotive Museum booksigning, and a studly shot of Ike Turner (who co-wrote "Rocket 88").

To top it off, Tony and his editor Randy McMullen chose to open the piece very boldly with Tom Medley's classic shot of the Beach Boys in front of the Capitol Records building in Hollywood.

Now that's comprehensive. You can check out the piece online at http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/16394496.htm